


Revenge Radio

by rowofstars



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Fluffapalooza 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-13
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-05-20 01:40:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5987790
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowofstars/pseuds/rowofstars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The local radio station hosts an hour every Saturday where they’ll tell your sordid story, help you get revenge, or break up with your significant other. Belle dumps Gaston over the radio, right before Valentine’s Day, and Gold is listening. <a href="http://rowofstars.tumblr.com/post/139175385567/standbyyourmantis-rowofstars">Based on this post.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So this is a thing that happened. IDK. It's cute, I guess.

_You’re listening to WSBK 105FM Storybrooke._

Gold bent over his workbench and scowled at the partially disassembled music box while the radio droned on in the background. It was a decent mix of classic rock and more current offerings, in tempos and tones he could tolerate. He liked a little bit of background noise when he worked, sometimes finding the almost eerie silence of his shop distracting. It was why he preferred his old Victorian house to anything newer, the creaks and groans of the aging structure made it so it was never too quiet in the evenings.

_Don’t forget tomorrow is Valentine’s Day..._

He shot a glare at the radio and then turned his attention back to the tiny motor from the music box. Valentine’s Day held no interest for him, aside from what money could be made off the poor idiots who bought into the necessity of greeting card holidays. In the past three days he’d sold several pieces of jewelry, some crystal figurines, and a rather expensive vase. He’d also accepted pawns of three watches and a made a car title loan to David Nolan. His truck was a fine vehicle at one point in its miserable life, but now was barely worth a few hundred dollars. Still, that money would surely be more than enough to impress the school teacher Miss Blanchard.

Gold shook his head as the radio commercial went on talking about the dinner specials at Granny’s and that new Italian place by the docks. Of course the prices would be inflated by at least twenty percent for the holiday and the inclusion of a free bottle of wine hardly balanced it out. He went on tinkering with the music box, hoping that he could have it fixed by Monday when Miss French would come to pick it up.

Belle French.

Just the name could make him sigh with happy longing. He didn’t understand how it happened, but three years ago she breezed back into town, all grown up, with an English degree and a Masters of Library Science, and shook up his perfectly routine existence. Every time he saw her, every time she turned her brilliant smile in his direction, he felt like she was breathing life back into him. He’d started being almost polite to people, forgiving rent payments when they got in tough situations, lowering it permanently in one case when Ashley Boyd turned up on his doorstep afraid and newly pregnant. She made him softer and somehow he didn’t mind.

Belle lit up the dark corners of his heart and made him feel like a person, like someone that maybe she cared about just a little. But that was probably just her being polite and nice, just as she was to everyone. There was no way she could feel for him as he did for her. They were friends and that had to be enough.

Besides she was dating that useless oaf Garrett something - Gastel? Gaston? Whatever. The Canadian ex-footballer turned car salesman had managed to become Belle’s boyfriend almost a year ago, though it seemed like an improbable pairing at best. Gold rolled his eyes. He’d heard the moron had two dozen red roses delivered to the library this morning, completely oblivious to the fact that she preferred white. The pathetic wanker probably didn’t even know her favorite flower was the calla lily. She deserved so much better.

_And now it’s time for your Saturday edition of Revenge Radio!_

At that, Gold perked up and reached over to turn up the volume. He smirked and shifted on his stool, leaning forward on his elbows so he could focus on whatever poor sucker was about to be lambasted to anyone who was listening. It was terrible really, a vicious bit of schadenfreude before the evening, but he couldn’t help it. Most people thought he was a monster, a miser, an odd eccentric to be avoided except when they needed something. Well, on Saturday from three to four in the afternoon, most of Storybrooke was glued to the radio, ready to hear the latest terrible doings of their neighbors. At least for this hour, they were all monsters.

 _Today we have a_ touching _message for Gary, from his girlfriend, Ellie._

Gold frowned and gave the radio a strange look. They always used fake names, though it was frequently possible to tell who they were really talking about. There was no one named Ellie in town, but Gold’s mind immediately went to Belle. And Gary? Did they meant Garrett? Belle had a message for Gaston? On Revenge Radio? Well, _this_ should be interesting.

Suddenly a terrible, loud, almost screeching sound came through the speaker followed by something he was sure was supposed to be music, if music was made by throwing instruments into a washing machine. After a few seconds, the noise settled into a discernible rhythm of drums and loud electric guitars, and then came a woman’s voice singing rather interesting lyrics. He didn’t listen too closely, and actually turned the volume down a bit, but the message seemed quite clear. The woman was fed up, the man she was singing about was a cheat, a liar, and an idiot, and from the sounds of it would be lucky if he lived past the end of the song.

After the first verse and chorus had played, the DJ faded out the music and spoke again.

_Well, sorry, Gary. Sounds like Ellie doesn’t want to be your valentine, or anything else for that matter. May we suggest drowning your sorrows in some of the drink specials at the Rabbit Hole this weekend?_

Well. That was definitely interesting. And completely unexpected.

Gold sat there, staring into space, unsure of what to do, until he heard the little tinkling of the bell over the shop door. He stood up and grabbed his cane, limping towards the doorway.

“Belle,” he said, stopping just beyond the beaded curtain that separated the work area at back from the front of the shop.

Belle smiled nervously and looked around, her fingers twisting against each other. “Hey,” she said after a moment. Her eyes finally landed on him and she gave him another hesitant twitch of her lips. “I, uh, broke up with Garrett.”

He took another step forward, nodding. “I, uh, heard that on the radio. Sounded pretty emphatic.”

“You were listening?” she asked, though she could still hear it on on the back room.

His lips pressed together in thought, and for a brief second he contemplated playing dumb. She’d see right through it though. She always did. There must be some reason she’d come to him, and some reason she’d used the radio to break up with her boyfriend. Perhaps she just needed a friendly shoulder to cry on. He could be that for her.

“Interesting song choice.” He gave her a crooked grin, and she smiled a bit.

“Well, it was that or something from an 80s hair band.” She shrugged.

Gold pretended he understood what that meant and nodded. “You want to tell me what happened?”

Belle let out a short, humorless laugh. Then she sighed and moved closer, until she was standing at the end of the counter, only a couple of feet from him. “Not really.”

“Alright.” His fingers twisted around the handle of his cane. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to say. “Are you -?”

“I didn’t love him,” she blurted out. Gold’s mouth opened, then closed. He frowned and his head tilted slightly. “I don’t know why I didn’t do it sooner, but -”

She took a breath and then grabbed the lapels of his jacket, pulling him to her and pressing her lips firmly against his. It was brief, too brief for his liking, and then she pulled back, keeping her hands on him.

“Belle, what -?”

“I didn’t love him,” she repeated, looking him in the eyes. She swallowed and licked her lips, a motion that he followed with interest. “I didn’t - I -”

He felt another tug against his chest and leaned in, meeting her halfway, his free hand coming up to cup the side of her face. This time the kiss lasted longer, much to his delight. Her lips were softer, the tip of her tongue touching his when she caught his bottom lip in hers.

When they finally separated, she looked up at him, almost expectant. His mind hadn’t really caught up with everything just yet but what he had surmised so far was that she definitely did not love Garrett Gaston, and that she was definitely happy they had broken up. He was also fairly certain that the kissing meant something.

“Belle, if you didn’t -,” he managed. Her shining eyes stopped him, and he took a breath, letting his hand trail down over her shoulder. “Have dinner with me. Tonight. Or tomorrow. Next week. I don’t care.”

Her mouth widened, curving into a bright smile. “Are you asking me to be your valentine, Mr. Gold?”

His eyebrows lifted slightly, lips twisting a bit as he fought back a smirk. “Well, it would appear, Miss French, that you are now less one valentine.”

“Indeed I am,” she answered. Her hands slid up the edges of his jacket and then wrapped around the back of his neck. Her fingers played with the ends of his hair and then guided him back down to her waiting lips.

 _That’s all for this week, folks. Tune in next week right here on WSBK 105FM for what should be a lively post-Valentine’s Day edition of Revenge Radio. Next up, we’ve got your weekend weather forecast and a special request from Ellie, going out to her_ new _valentine._


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> joylee56 prompted: How were these two doing the following Valentines Day?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a short little follow up.

_Welcome back to WSBK 105FM Storybrooke. It’s that time again, ladies and gentlemen. Valentine’s Day is upon us and you know what that means?_

A song started up and Belle whirled around with a book in her hand to see a grinning Gold standing by the circulation desk.

“What on Earth?” she asked, setting the book aside and walking towards her fiance.

He shrugged. “It’s our song.”

She stopped and frowned. “What?”

“Our song?” he repeated.

She laughed. “No it’s not!”

Gold startled and his brow furrowed. “What? Of course it is!”

Belle’s eyes widened. “Darling, I think I would know what song is our song.”

“And I think I would know too, _sweetheart_.”

She huffed and folded her arms. “This is _not_ our song.”

He sighed. “It’s the song you played on Valentine’s Day last year. Remember?”

She smirked and crossed the space to stand in front of him, her hands running up the lapels of his suit jacket. “Oh, I remember a lot of things about Valentine’s Day last year.”

Gold smiled and licked his lips. The sizable diamond on her left hand sparkled in the sunlight slanting in through the window behind the counter. “Then _this_ is our song.”

One of her eyebrows arched. “ _No_ , it’s _not_.”

“Then what _is_ our song?” he asked, exasperated.

She threw her head back and laughed. When she looked at him again, he was still frowning. “Tell you what,” she started. “If you can guess what it is by the time we’re done with dinner…”

His eyes narrowed. “Are you making a deal with me, Miss French?”

Her lips twitched. “I am, Mr. Gold. Will you accept?”

He blinked slowly. “That would depend on the terms.”

“Well, if you can guess what really is our song,” she continued. “Then I’ll show you what’s in that little pink bag I brought home last week.”

At that, Gold’s eyes went dark. “And if, um, I don’t?”

She shrugged, her arms going around his neck, fingers playing idly with his hair. “Then you’ll have to wait until the honeymoon.”

He groaned, knowing that he’d probably fail to guess correctly, but deciding that in the long run he was still winning if Belle French wanted to marry him.


End file.
